A Dothan man pleaded guilty in connection with a sex trafficking conspiracy spanning across south Alabama and the Florida panhandle, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida.

Chad Cornelius Seymore, 49, of Dothan, pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, receiving benefits from sex trafficking, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, and money Laundering, according to the release.

According to court documents, Seymore conspired with others over a four-year period to bond women out of county jail and then force them to commit commercial sex acts in Alabama and North Florida. Seymore allegedly recruited women suffering from drug addictions at hotels and through online advertisements.

He then threatened and physically abused his sex trafficking victims, the release says.

Kimberly Robinson Gandy, 47, of Gulfport, Mississippi, allegedly conspired with Seymore to traffic women in Panama City Beach and Destin, it continues. Officials said the pair used online money exchange platforms to transfer funds received from commercial sex acts.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners who investigated this case, and the tenacious work of the federal prosecutors and support staff in my office, we have dismantled this sex trafficking conspiracy and obtained justice on behalf of its victims,” said John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Gandy was found guilty on Wednesday afternoon by a federal jury on charges related to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and money laundering.

Sentencing for Seymore is scheduled for Aug. 15, at 2 p.m. and Gandy will be sentenced on Sept. 15, at 1:30 p.m.

The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Spaven. The defendants will be sentenced at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee.

The convictions were the result of a joint investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dothan, Alabama Police Department, the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Panama City Police Department, with assistance from the United States Marshal’s Service, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.

According to the release, the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that “marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”

“My office is committed to fulfilling the promise of President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to aggressively prosecute those who prey upon and profit from human trafficking victims,” Heekin said in the release.